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Posted on Wed, Feb 9, 2011 : 11:23 a.m.

BYU guard Jimmer Fredette takes lead in third AnnArbor.com National Player of Year Poll

By Michael Rothstein

His name has turned into an adjective and has everyone from former BYU coach LaVell Edwards to random people on a street in Ann Arbor yelling and singing “You’ve been Jimmered.”

The phenomenon named Jimmer Fredette, a senior guard from BYU, continues to fascinate the college basketball world this season. And with good reason.

Fredette might be the best player in the country.

The high-scoring BYU guard, leapt over Connecticut junior Kemba Walker to take over the top spot in the latest AnnArbor.com National Player of the Year Poll, made up of journalists who vote for the Naismith, Wooden, AP and Robertson player of the year awards.

A poll-high 59 voters submitted ballots and Fredette was the only player in the country to be named to every ballot.

Fredette, the nation’s leading scorer at 27.6 points a game, blew up in a nationally televised game against San Diego State two weeks ago, scoring 43 points in a 71-58 win over the then-undefeated Aztecs and sent the social media tool Twitter into overload.

He's also got a music video with Edwards and Shawn Bradley singing about him:

Fans created a Jimmer Player of the Year Web site — JimmerPOY.com — and when a BYU student sent a Letter to the Editor of the BYU student paper questioning why Fredette was so popular, well, it didn’t go so well.

So yeah, he’s kind of a big deal in Provo and the rest of the country.

MORE ANALYSIS:

For the second straight year, the third poll saw a change in the top player. Last year, Ohio State forward Evan Turner overtook Kentucky guard John Wall. This year, Fredette jumped Walker.

Interestingly, Turner started out in third place in the first poll last season, jumped to second in the second poll and first in the third poll. Fredette had a similar ascent this season.

For the third straight poll, the top three players remained the same: Fredette, Walker and Jared Sullinger. The order was just shuffled.

The 13 players named in the poll is a jump from the 10 in the second poll. The names, too, have changed dramatically. Six players made their first appearance in this poll: Derrick Williams, Marshon Brooks, Austin Freeman, Mickey McConnell, Jordan Taylor and Jordan Hamilton. Four players dropped out from the last poll: San Diego State’s Kawhi Leonard, Duke’s Kyle Singler, Illinois’ Demetri McCamey and UTEP’s Randy Culpepper. One player reappeared on the poll, Maryland’s Jordan Williams.

The 59 voters are the highest in the three-year history of the poll.

Walker had the biggest drop in the poll, going from first to third and from 130 points to 67. Fredette had the biggest jump, from 96 points to 149. Both Fredette and Sullinger distanced themselves from the competition in this poll.

A season-high eight conferences had players named in the third poll, up from six in the second poll and five in the first. The Big East and Big Ten had three players each, the ACC had two and the West Coast, Ohio Valley, Big 12, Pac 10 and Mountain West had one each.